Category 7
by ArmaDivina
Summary: Danny placed his hand flat against the ground, his eyes narrowing. If he could just figure out where the faint vibrations were coming from, he could put the uneasiness he felt behind him. But, the longer he sat there with his eyes shut and all his focus on figuring out where the faint buzzing was coming from, he had a feeling he was in way over his head.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls or Danny Phantom.**

* * *

Gravity Falls. Something about the name pissed him off. He couldn't really explain his anger but it was apparently funny enough for his sister. She sat next to him, her headphones in as she listened to some audiobook since actually reading while in the car made her nauseous. (Tucker had learned that the hard way.) Every so often, she would glance over at him and fall into another fit of giggles. He was positive that she was thinking about the outburst he had as they were packing up the RV. ("But gravity _can't_ fall!") Either way, he was still mad about the name; and the long car-drive. Why couldn't they have just hopped on a plane or something?

At least his father wasn't trying to play Fenton Eye Spy anymore. It wasn't that that different from normal Eye Spy. Basically, each person had to keep a look-out for what might possibly be a ghost. His mother had reached back and smacked his leg when he told his father that one of the cows that they had just passed looked slightly green and that it probably produced mint ice cream. The game had ever only gotten exciting a few times out of the millions they had played it over the years. The funniest incident had been when Jazz had half-heartedly pointed out a cloud that looked like Casper and Jack spent the next twenty minutes aggressively shouting at the sky as he unloaded gun after gun on a defenseless cloud. He had gotten sued.

Before they had left Amity Park, Maddie had told Jack that he would not be allowed to drive during the duration of the trip. He was upset at first ("But it'll take forever to get there now!") but it wasn't long until his dad had found other means of entertainment. For example, the already mentioned Fenton Eye Spy, changing the radio station after every song, loudly singing along to every song and declaring a pit stop every thirty minutes. Luckily, his mom ignored most of those pit stop requests so they weren't still somewhere in southern California.

Danny didn't know why they were heading the whole way to Oregon and to be totally honest, he didn't care. It was summer and he wanted to be back in Amity. Sure, he trusted that Sam and Tuck would have no problems handling the more minor ghosts and Valerie could do whatever the hell she wanted but he was scared that some of the more powerful ones, like Plasmius and even Walker would try to conquer Amity while he was sixteen hours away and unable to help. He had even called Dani in to help if it was needed.

Tucker had called it his "Hero's Complex." Danny called it "I'm Just Being Safe and I Don't Have a Hero's Complex, Dammit."

Either way, everyone assured him (minus Valerie who was probably extremely pissed off that Phantom had disappeared once again) that the town was safe. Sam had even threatened to shove her foot up his ass if he called to see if everything was okay within twenty four hours of him leaving. Jazz had stopped him from calling them exactly two hours after he left, casually reminding him that Sam follows through with her threats. He would not be able to afford the surgery. The phone was quickly shoved back into his pocket.

Almost twenty hours ago, they had left Amity Park and Danny was so close to calling and asking how everything was. Sadly, he couldn't for three reasons. One, he didn't want a boot stuck in his ass. Two, his parents would hear him and start asking questions. Three, Jazz had taken his phone. He guessed it was because he had been checking it every five minutes for the past two hours.

"Don't worry." She had whispered, snatching his phone shoving under her leg. "Everything is fine. If it wasn't they would've called." He had opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "It's on vibrate, isn't it? If it goes off I will give it to you. Stop bouncing your stupid leg, it's making me anxious."

Twenty minutes later and he was still bouncing his leg, Jazz looked like she was about to hit him and their parents were blissfully ignorant of what was going on. Ah, family trips.

Danny was about to ask for his phone back so he could text Tucker when multiple things happened.

The air suddenly turned stale and everything became a few shades darker, like the sun had gone behind a cloud. His ghost sense went off in a huge plume, the normal icy blue color now a dark red. A loud high pitched squeal started and seemed to be growing louder with each passing moment. Goosebumps broke out across his body and everything just felt _wrong._

Then it was over. The air turned normal and the metaphorical sun came back out. Jazz was looking at him strangely and he was breathing heavily. Danny's hand went to his ears, which were still ringing from the loud sound. He vaguely heard his dad talking about something and he almost jumped out of his skin when Jazz touched his shoulder.

"Danny? Hey, are you alright? You look really pale."

She didn't experience any of that? Terrified blue eyes darted between her and their parents. Did anybody? No, his dad was talking excitedly about something and he heard his mother laugh in response. It was just him.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just got kinda dizzy for a moment there. Car sickness, I guess."

His sister nodded, her expression saying she didn't really believe him. He was thankful she didn't push it.

"Hey, dad?" He called, ready to change the subject. "When will we get there? I need to stretch my legs, or something." Danny laughed lightly, ready to forget whatever the hell just happened.

"We are there Dan! Just passed the sign a few moments ago."

Danny had to sit on his hands to stop them from shaking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls or Danny Phantom. **

* * *

Tucker called back after about an hour and the second Danny picked up, he knew he was going to hear some weird shit.

"Northwest Manor? Isn't that why you guys are up there in the first place?"

"Yeah, my parents were drowning in phone calls and emails about the place. Apparently there was a ghost attack during a party there and they were called to check it out. Other than that, I know nothing about it."

Jazz had left the room they shared about twenty minutes ago, shouting something about meeting the people that lived here before slamming the door and causing one of the framed photos to fall off the wall. The place they were staying wasn't the best but the Fenton family had stayed in worse places. But, he was alone and that meant he could talk freely.

"Tuck, I know you are itching to tell me something so let's just get this over with." Danny was laying on the bed, his summer homework strewn about and his laptop open to a blank word document. He hoped the event was nothing big so he could actually start his junior year with good grades but luck never seemed to be on his side.

"You should appreciate this man. I had to filter out everything about Kayne and Kim's baby just to find this stuff. Gravity Falls isn't exactly a well-known place and –"

"Tucker."

"Right." Some clacking sounds were heard from his end, probably him typing on the computer. "Okay, the mansion was built over the course of many years by a bunch of lumberjacks. Once the mansion was built though, a landslide occurred since they used all the trees on the hill. Many of the men who build the place died in the disaster. Most of them drowned in the mud, cause it had been storming, but one guy was killed when an ax buried itself in the guy's head."

Danny winced and sat upright, shutting is laptop. No work was being done today, that's for sure. "Ouch. That's violent."

"Danny, it gets worse. The man didn't die instantly, according to a witness that survived. He struggled to stay about the mud until he was too weak and was carried away."

"Wait, how'd the other dude survive?"

"Climbed a tree."

"Oh that makes sense."

"Anyway," Tucker drawled out. "His description matches the ghost that attacked the manor, which is understandable since he died because of it being build, but exactly 150 years after the fact? That's what doesn't make sense. Also, the Northwest family has some weird history. Apparently, for years people believed that a Northwest was the one that founded Gravity Falls but in reality it was some crazy dude named Quentin Trembley, who was aslo apparently the 8 ½ president of the United States. Okay." Tucker snorted and continued. "It seems their family made a name for them by painting a better picture of the things that they have done. Maybe the ax man was angry about that."

Danny was silent for a moment, thinking over what Tucker had just said. In the silence, he heard a door slam and a loud voice.

"Shit, Tuck. Lemme call you back." Without waiting for a response, Danny ended the call and quickly opened his laptop, just in time for his dad to slam the door to the room open.

"Danny!" His mom was behind his father, smiling softly. Both were dressed in normal clothes, a very rare occurrence, and his dad had some ridiculous hat on his head. Oh god, they wanted to take him somewhere. His phone went off a few times but he ignored it.

"Weren't you guys supposed to be meeting with the Northwest family today?" Danny asked, swinging his legs off the bed and one again closing his laptop. Nothing of importance there anyway.

His mother maneuvered around his father and sat on Jazz's bed. Danny had to hold back a laugh when he noticed the look of discomfort on her face as she readjusted her jeans. Yep, normal clothes were a very rare occurrence.

"They didn't want to meet with us today, something about their daughter. We were told later in the week would be a good time so we are planning on heading over Friday. In the meantime, we are just going to hang around. Want to join us?"

"Uh -" Danny's phone beeped again. Glancing down at the screen, he saw four new messages from Tucker. His tone quickly changed. "Oh, yeah. Why not? There is this place that seems pretty cool that we can check out."

His mother grinned, probably happy that he was spending time with them. "Great! You can tell us about it during lunch. There's this little diner up the road. C'mon."

Danny grinned and scooped up his phone, glancing once more at the screen before heading out of the room and locking the door behind him.

**Tuck:** dude this man claims he was attacked by zombies at this place called the mystery shack

**Tuck:** police responded and they found human bones along the property miles away from where they were buried

**Tuck:**_ One Attachment_

**Tuck:** I dont think hes lying


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **It's been 11 years since Danny Phantom first premiered. I was six and that thought kinda terrifies me. Ah, anyway. It's still the Dannyversary as I'm typing this but I can't promise that it will be posted today since I have to go to work in a few hours.

I've been writing this chapter for ages it feels like. I keep restarting and changing parts and not working on my research paper. (cough) Overall, this chapter was extremely difficult for me to write. I don't think it flows well but I really wanted to get this out to you guys. There is a very good chance I'll come back and change it before I post the next chapter so make sure to check the next time I update this. I'll also write a little note about it if I changed anything, just so you guys don't get confused.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I'm pretty excited at the feedback this story has been getting. Thanks guys!

And my god, I don't own Danny Phantom or Gravity Falls.

* * *

_2:48 pm_

The Mystery Shack was something to laugh at, and that's exactly what Danny did when he walked in and saw the bear with a plastic unicorn horn glued to it. Literally, he could see the dried glue and the tourists here were eating it up. He barely noticed his mom patting his head before she and his father moved away to look at the other stuff in the museum because he was laughing so hard. After calming down, he took better look at the ridiculous bear. Stuck to the pedestal it stood on was a plaque that said Grizzlycorn and Danny had to suppress a snort. He stood there for a minute or two, a look of amusement on his face before he started to notice his surroundings. Behind him, a camera flashed and Danny turned just in time to see a strange old man leading a group past and gesturing to stuff with a weird staff that had an eight-ball on the top.

The place didn't seem like it was buzzing with any sort of supernatural energy. The only buzzing he could sense were small vibrations running through the floorboards, most likely a sort of generator to keep all the lights up and running. The weirdest thing about the Mystery Shack was that the giant "S" had fallen off the sign outside, making it say Mystery Hack, which made the contents of the place even funnier.

Maybe Tucker had gotten some bad information.

Somewhere in the room, a child started to laugh and his amused expression turned into a small, relaxed smile. Something about this place, no matter how fake it all was, calmed him. It was probably because there were entire families here that were enjoying themselves without a care in the world, though why they came to this place was a weird concept for him.

Danny lingered for a few more moments as he wondered what would happen if he just kicked the bear off the stand yelling timber. _Probably_ _get arrested_ he finally concluded, slightly disappointed in the fact that there was no chance the bear could come alive to make things more interesting. Deciding not to be associated with the tall, embarrassing man known as his father, who he could hear yelling about how uncomfortable his shirt was, Danny headed in the opposite direction. Maneuvering his way around a few tourists, who were talking pictures of a gorilla wearing underpants, he found himself strangely fascinated by a mermaid of sorts stuck in a fish tank. Along with being strangely fascinated, he was extremely disturbed, so he decided to move past it for the moment, intending to return later to take a picture to show his friends. For about an hour, he looked around at different exhibits, including something that resembled a pterodactyl, before he reached the door that led to the gift shop. Glancing back once again at the museum, Danny went through the door and was immediately met with bobble heads of the strange guy with the eight-ball staff he had seen in the shop.

_So, he must be the owner?_ he thought, flicking one of the bobble heads so that it bounced around. Grinning, he moved past the slightly creepy knickknacks to an empty spot against the wall. The room wasn't that big and his parents weren't here yet so he decided to wait. Danny pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Tuck and Sam, explaining how he didn't sense anything they should be worried about before sending one to Jazz, asking where she was since he hadn't heard from her for a while. Shoving his phone back into his pocket, his eyes roamed around the room, half paying attention to what he saw until he noticed a jar of eyeballs sitting on the check-out desk. Slightly grossed out, he turned his attention to the girl standing behind the counter. The girl, who was reading a magazine, seemed extremely bored for someone not doing their job to begin with. He watched her for a few minutes, since there was nothing else really to do, before she seemed to realize someone was staring at her. Looking up, her eyes immediately locked on his and Danny couldn't stop the embarrassed blush from appearing on his face. Nonetheless, he raised a hand in greeting and almost laughed when she rolled her eyes and went back to her magazine.

"So, kid. You gonna buy somethin' or are you just gonna stand there?" Danny turned quickly, almost ready to throw an ectoblast before he realized it was the man he had seen in the museum. The eyepatch he had been wearing over his glasses was now flipped upwards and he was staring at Danny, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ah," Danny responded, scratching his nose. "I don't believe so, sir. I'm just waiting for my parents. They are still in there," He finished lamely, gesturing to the doorway that led back into the museum. The blush had flared up on his cheeks and he silently cursed himself for getting embarrassed so easily. Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, he waited for the man's response. What he was expecting wasn't what he got.

The man seemed to pull one of the bobble heads out of nowhere and shoved it in Danny's face.

"Well! How about this fine item?" The man's demeanor had completely changed and that's when Danny realized that this strange old man was a swindler. "It's a bobble head, of my face! And I am, the one and only, Mr. Mystery! I'll give it to you for twenty five."

"Twenty fi- are you frickin' serious?" Danny questioned, flicking the bobble head. "No thank you, sir, I'm broke." He continued, ignoring the the annoyed look that crossed "Mr. Mystery's" face. Danny returned the look for a few moments before he remembered the picture that Tucker had sent him of the supposed unmarked graves that were scattered throughout the forest around the Mystery Shack. Did this man have something to do with that?

Danny narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the man still brandishing the bobble head.

"Sir? Can I ask you a few questions?"

* * *

_2:57 am_

Back in Amity Park, Tucker was buried in rumors and articles about people trying to cover up those rumors and he was ready to throw his precious computer out the window. Sam was asleep on his bed, surrounded by old newspaper clippings that she had found in the library from the rare times that Gravity Fall had made the news. One sat apart from the rest, the header reading "Northwest Mansion Complete" with a long winded description of the party thrown. The paper was yellow and faded, for it was over 70 years old. Half the article, they had been unable to read due to a stupid coffee stain.

It was three in the morning now and Tucker had recruited Sam in his search when he had hacked the Gravity Falls police database and found the report of the so-called Zombie attack about twelve hours ago. He thought the report would be short and sweet, detailing how kids in costume had trashed the Mystery Shack, which would make his and Danny's lives a helluva lot easier. When he clicked on the file to open it, he was immediately redirected to a website that gave his PDA a major virus. Barely containing a scream, he tossed the PDA aside and cursed Murphy's Law for making him loose yet another PDA that he didn't even finish paying off. Switching to his computer, he had spent about an hour fighting his way around the virus and FBI encryptions, which gave Tucker a major headache, and all he found in the file were two low-quality pictures. If he hadn't been so pissed, he probably would've questioned why such security was needed to protect to pictures. But, he had just lost an expensive PDA and he had not slept in over twenty four hours. He didn't give a damn why the FBI did what they did.

The first picture he had sent to Danny, deeming it the only worthwhile one even though it was simply of an open area surrounded by trees. At least seven holes could be seen in the ground, the dirt haphazardly strewn about. The second was a blurry picture of figures in the trees, at least thirty, all heading in the same direction. Teenagers, panicked guests, Tucker didn't care. He was done with the supernatural. Done. No more.

It was around that time that he called Sam. A ghost going on a rampage in a mansion he could handle, not reanimated bodies of long dead people.

They had looking for hours before Sam dozed off on Tucker's bed a little over an hour ago and Tucker was on the verge of passing out himself. Taking off his glasses, he stared blearily at his computer screen which showed a picture of the Mystery Shack.

"I'll just look more tomorrow." Tucker decided, yawning and curling up on his chair since his bed was currently occupied.

Then his phone rang.

* * *

_4: 15 pm_

Maddie entered the gift shop with a smile on her face and her husband right by her side, as always. She had enjoyed herself in the museum, poking fun at the obviously fake creatures with Jack. They had examined a few relics that had some truth to them, but seriously doubted they were the real thing. The most exciting that that happened was when one of two the energy sensors she was carrying had gone off when she walked past the Totem Pole outside, causing them to stop and look at it for a moment. It was Jack that pointed out that since the Shack was in the middle of the woods, they probably had all sorts of energy connections that ran to the main part of town, causing the sensor to pick up on them. Agreeing, Maddie had switched them off and stuck them in her backpack.

Seeing all the other families there had caused a small frown to appear on her face. She couldn't remember the last time that they had done something together as a family. Granted, they had come all the way out to Oregon because of a vicious ghost attack and they had only come here to the Mystery Shack because of Danny's suggestion, but she didn't realize how much her family needed time _as_ a family until she had seen Danny's shoulders visibly relax when they had walked inside.

Maddie had watched him grow up, solving complex equations in the blink of an eye without a calculator by the time he reached sixth grade. Coupled with being his favorite, Danny had excelled at science more than the other subjects. It was a few weeks into freshman year when his grades started to plummet and when he began to distance himself from his family and friends. Depression was the first thought that came to mind and after a few months, she had started to discuss with Jack if they should take Danny to a therapist. It wasn't long after that conversation that Danny started to brighten, hanging out with his friends more and talking with his family. He seemed better, other than the fact he started coming home with more bruises. Maddie's next thought was bullying and she immediately called the school, which did absolutely nothing to stop it. It seemed to lessen as the year went on before returning full force after spring break.

Her son had been so tense lately and his grades, while better than they were his freshman year, didn't reflect how smart he truly is. During his sophomore year, Danny had surprisingly exceeded the expectations the teachers had set for him. He went the entire year without the risk of failing a class, even though had had to double up on gym and history, since he had failed those two his freshman year. But, it had become normal for teachers to call after school, saying that Danny had fallen asleep again or had walked into class with a new bruise on his face. Right before they announced the trip to their children, two weeks before summer vacation started, Danny had come home with a bloody nose but refused to explain what really happened, choosing to stick with the excuse that he fell.

She just wanted to know what was happening with her son.

Maddie was sure that Jazz knew something, since she always seemed to be covering for him. Jazz had never been one to lie to them but in the past two years, it seems that is all she's done and only for Danny. What was her son doing that neither of her children wanted her to know about? Sighing, she looked up at her husband who seemed to be blissfully unaware of what she had been thinking about.

This vacation was something they've all needed.

* * *

_3:22 pm_

Once, for an English assignment back in middle school, Jazz had to write a three page paper about a trip she went on with her family. She had finished her paper with time to spare so she felt confident the day it was due, already imagining showing her parents the good grade she would get. However, her teacher asked her to stay after class, which never happened before. Curious and somewhat scared, Jazz had waited until everybody else had left before going to stand in front of her teacher's desk.

Mr. Mitsarlo had started sweet, praising Jazz at how nicely written her paper was. She had just started to believe that she wasn't in trouble when he dropped the bomb.

"It's a great story Jazz, but that's all it is. A story. You have great talent but I wanted a descriptive essay on a family trip that actually happened, not some fantasy that you had whipped up in your brain."

She had frowned at her teacher's statement.

"But this actually did happen."

She had written about the time her parents had taken her and her brother camping in a supposed haunted forest. She wrote about how her father had accidentally brought the food to life and how her mother had fended off ghostly hamburgers with two s'mores prongs while her dad fought off glowing hot dogs with teeth using only a flashlight and a piece of leftover firewood. Danny and Jazz both affectionately refer to the event as the "Ecto-Weenie Incident" and have scars from the carnivorous hot dogs.

Mr. Mitsarlo sighed at Jazz's response, glancing once more at her paper before scribbling a 79 on it.

"It's very well written, though it doesn't follow my criteria. I'm afraid this is the best grade I can give you."

It was bumped to a 100 by the end of the day because Danny had managed to take over ten pictures of the attack, thus providing proof to her English teacher.

That wasn't the only vacation where things didn't go as planned.

When Jazz was five, her parents took the family to Disney and were promptly banned from returning by the end of their first day there. The park didn't appreciate Jack pulling out an ectogun and shooting it wildly throughout the Haunted Mansion ride. How he managed to sneak it past security is something she will never understand.

Two years after that, they tried to visit Washington DC. That trip ended with five year old Danny _covered _in ectoplasm and sobbing in the middle of the White House. They were kindly asked to leave and never return, since Danny wasn't the only one that ended up covered in the green goop. They were actually sued by two families because of that incident, along with a major fine from the government.

Overall, Fenton vacations never ended on a good note which had Jazz wondering when something would go horribly wrong with this one.

Earlier that day, Jazz had grabbed her iPod and decided to go for a walk around town, just to get the feel of it. Sadly, the place was a small one so it didn't take long before Jazz found herself sitting alone on a bench, her elbows resting uncomfortably on the table in front of her.

Jazz hoped Danny was okay.

She had considered asking him if he wanted to join her on a walk but she knew he'd flat out refuse. Danny had seemed like he was working a study system so she didn't want to bother him. Neither of them really wanted to be on this trip but with Fenton Vacations, one really didn't have a choice.

She was so lost in thought, she didn't notice that her phone had lit up showing five unread messages or the growing plume of smoke coming from the woods behind her.

* * *

**A/N: **It is April 3, 2015 at 2:35 in the morning. Hey, I was close. I fell asleep right in the middle of editing this so if you see any mistakes, just lemme know. Now, goodnight and I'll see you when I get around to updating this or EMF.


End file.
